Secret Pleasures (12 page)

“Gerome, that’s your husband, isn’t
it
?
”
Darien stiffened and tried to rein in his temper
.
“Tell me about him.”

A faint wailing drifted down the hall, growing increasingly louder
.
Darien slipped to the entryway that linked the kitchen to the rest of the house
.
A door had been propped open and he nonchalantly kicked at the iron rabbit doorstop to shut the damned thing
.
Quite likely, Ivy would rather not introduce her little secret to Faith under such circumstances
.

“Have you seen my new carriage?
”
Darien braced a hand on the threshold, blocking Faith’s view, while he had to give the rabbit another forceful shove to clear the door’s width. “You shan’t have to worry about Ivy not being seen in style.”

“Gerome does not like a lavish display of riches
.
Style is definitely to be frowned upon
.
Is that a baby’s cries?”

“Darien, could you help me search for Melody’s tincture?
”
Ivy appeared at his back giving him a hard nudge to clear her way
.
“It’s in a small brown bottle with a clear glass stopper
.
Hurry.
”
Her little bundle of joy sucked in a wet gasp.

Darien stumbled forward not wanting to risk being an obstacle to Ivy’s determined stride with the child in her arms.

“Faith.
”
Ivy stilled the moment she spotted her sister
.
“How good of you to drop in
.
My seamstress came by to show me her daughter
.
Isn’t she adorable?”

Ivy held Melody away from her chest as if admiring her for the first time and the infant’s earsplitting scream of complaint instantly numbed Darien’s hearing.

“Good Lord!” Faith said, appalled
.
She searched the kitchen, spotted the bottle and rushed to Ivy.

“Here, give her to me,” Faith insisted.

“I can do it.
”
Ivy
pulled
Melody passionately
closer
.
She took the bottle from her sister, shifted Melody to open the container then aimed the drops.

Faith and he watched with rapt attention, as if the event was intended for entertainment
.
Darien thought to help but knew he would only make matters worse
.
Ivy missed getting the first drop into Melody’s mouth, which only infuriated the wee lass more
.
He glanced at Faith to plead with her to do something
.
She gripped her hands and bit her lip, obviously determined not to interfere.

Melody smacked when the first drop reached her mouth and her scrunched face softened to reveal wide
dark
eyes
.
She quieted, waiting for another
.
After the third drop, her breathing normalized
. S
he quieted except for random post-tantrum hiccups.

“There.” Ivy pressed Melody to her chest with a sigh of relief
.
“Jenny will be glad she quieted.”

“How sheltered do you suspect me to be, Ivy
?
Who is the
—
”
Faith pressed the back of her hand to her lips
.
She glanced at Darien, took a deep breath and said, “I cannot believe I have to ask this of my own sister, but who is the father?”

Ivy said nothing, her gaze downcast in an unfamiliar gesture Darien did not care for
.
Ivy had always looked everything and everyone square in the eye.

“Or do you know?” Faith continued, obviously not recognizing or not caring how much her words hurt her sister.

“Someone who has more noble blood than your squalling brats ever will.
”
Darien strode to put his arm around Ivy.

“Darien!
”
Ivy glanced up at him in sharp rebuke
,
but he thought he caught a hint of a smile in her eyes.

“I suppose that answers my question.
”
Faith’s pinched-faced disapproval melted into a soft smile, almost causing Darien to regret his harsh tone.

“And what do you two suppose to do about this situation?
”
Faith folded her arms over her chest, her self-righteous demeanor
returning
.
“This child?”

In response, Melody released a belch with the intensity of a drunken sailor then spit up a foul smelling spray upon Ivy’s light green gown.

“What other people of our ilk do
.
Send her away to board with a country woman who has fourteen more
.
Melody will die before her second birthday and be out of our hair for good.
”
Ivy shifted Melody and rubbed her back apparently unconcerned with the tang of sour milk.

Darien was once again thankful that he had been forced to refrain from his usual London drinking binge or Melody would not be the only one giving up their breakfast
.
He spotted a tea towel next to the basket of muffins and retrieved it for Ivy.

“I meant, will you two
really
marry?” Faith said gently. “Change your ways, both of you?” she said with an extra sharp look for Darien
.
“Provide a wholesome environment?”

Darien kept his mouth shut, waiting for Ivy to explain the situation to Faith so he could be enlightened as well.

“I am sure whatever I do will disappoint your standards of morality,” Ivy said.

Faith had always been a Goody Two-Shoes, crying to her parents if Darien so much as snuck a peck upon her beautiful sister’s long, supple neck.

“I must go.
”
Faith settled her wide-brimmed hat on her head
.
“Gerome understands my need to visit
,
but he expects me not to make a spectacle of myself
.
I only came round to ask what scandal we should prepare ourselves for after Darien’s show at the ball
.
Now I see.”

“You don’t see
.
Melody has nothing to do with what happened at the ball
.
I promise you that her existence will not further inflame your husband’s sense of moral outrage.”

“I shan’t see you again until you have married the child’s father.
”
Faith paused by
the
door. “I know you think you are beyond all that Ivy, but you are not.
”
Instead of marching down the steps in her rigid indignation, Faith rushed toward Ivy and Melody
.
She embraced her sister and her child, then gently touched the baby’s head
.
“She is beautiful
.
Just like you,” Faith said to Ivy
.
“Take care of your mum
.
She needs someone to love.”

Faith turned and rushed out the door.

“Shall I strike Faith and Gerome from my proposed list of wedding guests?” Darien asked, hoping to gain a hint of a smile from Ivy
.

“Are we still welcome to accompany you to your family’s country estate?
”
Ivy stared at the door where her sister departed
.
“I do not intend to be separated from my daughter, so if private accommodations will be a problem
—
”

“No problem at all.
”
Darien straightened, not sure what to make of Ivy’s sudden change but unwilling to ask, lest she alter her plans again.

“Excellent
.
I’ll pack our trunks.
”
She strode down the hall and Darien followed, choosing his next words carefully.

“You shall be in rather tight quarters with me
.
I hope that won’t trouble you.”

Ivy paused on the top step and turned to face him
.
“Nothing shall please me more.
”

…a
nd I’ve witnessed the pleasure she brings to your life.
”

“I must remove my coat before I faint.
”
The noonday sun beat on the carriage and heated the interior like a hot house
.
Ivy gently dislodged Melody’s warm cheek from her damp skin
.
A puddle of drool had soaked through her India
n
print
chintz
gown
.
“Might you hold her for a moment?”

“Me?
”
Darien startled from his relaxed position on the wide leather seat across from her
.
His foot dropped to the carriage floor with a thud that sounded over the steady clop of the horses’ hooves
.
Melody jolted and abruptly opened her swollen eyes.

“Do you see anyone else?” Ivy whispered and nestled Melody against her until she settled back into deep sleep
.
“It was your idea to leave for Westhaven at once. And without the aid of a single servant besides your driver
.
I told you you’d regret it.
”

“I aimed for discretion. For your sake, of course,” he added with a grin
.
His good humor evaporated the moment she once again urged him to take Melody
.
He backed against the padded seat, eyeing the small bundle with a slight grimace
.
“It’s not that I wish to be disagreeable, but I’ve never held a baby before
.
And she’s sleeping so peacefully.”

“While I roast and you doze with your coat off, sleeves rolled and not so much as a
cravat
to prevent the breeze from cooling your skin.
”
Ivy balanced Melody with one hand while she leaned forward to remove her wool cloak herself
. 

Darien attempted to assist her while keeping clear of contact with Melody
.
The carriage hit a rut, jostling Ivy almost out of her seat
.
Darien scooped up Melody before Ivy could dislodge her arm from the confines of her tangled coat.

At first he held Melody at arm’s length like a potentially explosive champagne bottle
.
Slowly, he eased her nearer his chest, gaining a better grip
.
He smiled at Ivy with a mixture of satisfaction and relief.

“She’s still asleep.
”
He sighed.

Ivy finished removing her cloak but made no move to retrieve her little Melody
.
Cramped from cradling her all night, Ivy stretched the length of the seat, scooting over to get a better view from the carriage window
.

The green canopy of overgrowth cast a verdant glow from the sun’s theatrical backlighting
.
A searing blue sky peeked through the show of branches
.
After the constant grey of London, the sight stole her breath and stirred some vague seed of bliss Ivy had long ago forgotten. The city’s soot and grief seemed to dissipate in the wash of fresh country air
.

She glanced at Darien, a balm against the sharp edges of loss that had troubled her through the night
.
Darien had nestled Melody against his chest and she practically cooed with each deep, rhythmic breath
.
Not once in their travels had Ivy resorted to the opium tincture she feared the baby had been born addicted to.

“I think she likes the carriage ride.
”
Darien effortlessly shifted her to the crook of one tanned arm
.
“She has a sweet face when it’s not crinkled and red.”

“It’s the jostle
.
Or perhaps the clean air.
”
Ivy relaxed against the cushioned seat, determined to absorb every moment of her time with Darien and the lush English countryside
.
“I know it does wonders for me
.
I love it here.”

“I’m sorry I made you leave.”

She stiffened at the reminder that she could not truly escape her London troubles until she left English soil
.
Even in the wilds of Cornwall, her notorious reputation followed her
,
and she would not have an innocent babe painted red with that same brush
.
“Do we have to talk about the past?”